Do you ever blanket foals?

[LMH]

OK...I live in Georgia and rarely blanket BUT we do get the occasional nasty cold damp icky days.

My horses go out unless it is ice. They get blankets when it is WET and cold-just light waterproof to cut the wet.

When I had my last foal, I stalled them more often-so I am facing a new situation.

Logan is currently approaching 6 months old.

Thoughts?

[Oakstable]

In my experience, foals really get a thick winter coat if it turns cold.

I have blanketed newbies but have never blanketed a yearling.

I think our climate is somewhat similar to yours without humidity.

So who is Logan?

Sally

[talloaks]

I blanket all of my horses when the weather is bad, rainy and cold and we live in Virginia. I don't have foals in the winter or early part of the year so I don't blanket them until they are going into their first winter, Yes they take 2 or 3 sizes to get through the winter.

[ASBJumper]

Yes, I have. I have bred two babies, the first one was on 24/7 turnout for her first winter and needed a blanket fairly early on as she hadn't grown much of a coat and she was stubborn for the first few weeks and refused to go into the shelter at night, preferring to scream at the gate and pout because she wasn't being brought in. It was early December, and my BO said to me "you're gonna have to get her a blanket, I went out to check on her and she was shivering and cold". :rolleyes: What a diva.

This past winter, my 08 baby came in at night and got nice and poufy in November before the bad weather hit, so he never needed a blanket.

[Fairview Horse Center]

My babies live out after weaning. They have a run-in shed available at night, or if it is below 50 and fairly steady rain. Never blanketed them, and never had one sick in 20+ years. I live in No. VA.

[Oakstable]

I had a foal born Sept 25 four years ago.

He had a typical newborn coat, but he and mum were boarded in a very windy area only 20 miles from here and he poufed out a thick coat amazingly fast.


Scot Tolman in VT doesn't blanket from what I recall.

I see horses on my street standing in blankets during the daytime and I feel sorry for them.

It did get down to 17 degrees on one day a couple years ago but it barely breaks below freezing and horses can easily handle that.

I have one mare who never grows a winter coat and she has a blanket but it has not come out in the last two years. She has plenty of insulation under her sleek coat.

[LMH]

So it sounds like I should use common sense.

If he is cold, get him a blanket. If he is not cold, leave him be.

Common sense-what a novel idea!:lol:

[LMH]

So who is Logan?

Sally


LOGAN!

http://www.belhavenequinesolutions.com/Logan/Logan.html


My new amazingly chillin fantastic easy going foal that makes my heart sing!:D

[clint]

So it sounds like I should use common sense.

If he is cold, get him a blanket. If he is not cold, leave him be.

Common sense-what a novel idea!:lol:

Ain't it?:lol::D

I have a blanket around for the occasional time I need one, and that is for a sickie or something I haven't forseen yet. I have gone for years without taking it out of its wrap, but it is there. Frankly, even if the foal doesn't need it the act of putting a blanket on them gives them one more thing to get used to, so if the situation warrants, do it.:yes:

[Fairview Horse Center]

All of the horses will shiver a bit the first few chilly rains, but that seems to build their undercoat and toughen them nicely for the winter.

I have found those that shiver at 55 and rain in October, don't at 40 and rain in December if you just leave them alone.

[JB]

If I had one that age, I'd be getting a blanket for a couple of reasons:

1. I don't always work from home, so I can't be there if we get a cold January rain. I don't like to blanket for the "just in case" scenarios unless they're almost a sure thing. I think an adult horse can probably take 6 hours of a 33* rain better than a weanling.
2. Even if I were at home all the time, and could bring horses in so blankets weren't needed, I don't want a baby growing up thinking that rain, or high winds, means inside-time. He needs to learn to deal with it - but comfortably.

[JB]

I have found those that shiver at 55 and rain in October, don't at 40 and rain in December if you just leave them alone.
*sigh* I wish :( My mare gets cold just as easily in a late Spring (ie Winter coat almost gone) 60* rain as she does in a January 35* rain as she does in a Oct 55* rain :no:

[Sugarbrook]

Heck, some of mine shiver when it is 75 degrees and raining in Fl. Not foals though, they seem tough and are busy playing in the rain!! I have never blanketed a foal, but then........oh yes..........LOL........I am in Fl. But we do get some cold nights.

[VirginiaBred]

I've covered many! They are precious in their outfits. :)

[camohn]

Only on early foals.... in snow or cold rain.

[Daydream Believer]

No, I've never blanketed yearlings and don't even own blankets that small. I will have an Arab mixed in with my tough little hairy babies this winter, so she may need a bit more pampering. The kids have good shelter, lots of food and they do just fine.

I rarely blanket my own horses at all these days...just the ones that are in training that I'm trying to keep hair down on...the rest...youngstock, stallions, and mares, are all allowed to get hairy and run naked. Kind of sounds a little kinky...like something out of the sixties.:lol:

[Fairview Horse Center]

This thread truly shows that blanketing - horses OR foals is about preference. If you like to blanket, do. If you don't, don't.

[JB]

Or, if the horse needs to be blanketed, do. If not, don't ;)

[Oakstable]

Logan is a real cutie.

When I owned 1-2-3 horses, I put on blankets.

Now that I own many more, I am much more realistic.

If you talk with owners of herds, you will get a different answer.

I doubt Europeans are putting blankets on yearlings and their climate is wetter and colder.

It really comes down to what floats your boat.

I only have a blanket for a newborn foal who needs some help.

[Ladybug Hill]

I just don't think I can do as good of a job as mother nature. Yes, some of the thin skinned TBs get a bit shivery with wet rain, but I would never turn out without a shelter in poor weather. I just don't believe in blankets except for horses in active riding/showing in winter months.

[EqTrainer]

I might ask my vet. I say that because I have seen more than one bad injury from a young horse getting messed up/wrapped up/tied up in a blanket. I would have to think that it is not that uncommon if in my limited exposure to foals, I've seen it more than once. So it might be good to hear what his/her experience w/it has been.

[JB]

Even with shelter, some horses just don't go in it. If a horse is cold, he gets a blanket; if he's not, he doesn't. I don't like to put blankets on either - it's a pita. They roll in wet, heavy, cold red clay in the Winter, and I don't enjoy, at all, pulling them off :dead: But what I don't like even more is my mare getting cold and running in the slick red clay to warm up, taking the other 2 with her.

[Fairview Horse Center]

Over the years, I have boarded a couple that truly needed a blanket. Last year, one went thru Dec-Jan with no blanket, then I began to find him shivering in the morning, IN the stall, closed barn. He got a blanket. We did watch him closely, as I suspected something else going on.

In most cases though, the unblanketed horse will spend many, many more hours comfortable, than the blanketed ones. Wearing the same weight blanket from cold morning, thru the sunny afternoon, and back to chilly later afternoon just does not make them as comfortable as they would be adjusting naturally. The same with a chilly evening, dropping to very cold at 4 AM, and no coat to fluff, or maybe even damp from sweat and too heavy blankets earlier when it hits that low.

In most cases, we blanket for our convenience, and to keep them clean & pretty.

I do blanket my stallions, but they go out at night all winter, when the other horses are in, and have no shelter in the field.

[EquusMagnificus]

I have an assortment of blankets of all sizes to I can adapt to the situation. This year, they'll have access to a big shelter, which they never did before :eek: so we'll see. But otherwise, it depends on the horse.

My barn is always heated to make sure the water doesn't freeze so my horses rarely wear a blanket for more then 12 hours (when they are out). And if they are blanketed during the day, I'll walk up to them at noon and make sure no one's too hot, if they are, blanket goes off!

It is lots of handling, but as I said, I didn't have a big shelter before so I was really concerned about them being cold or miserable in the wind/rain/snow. A nice dry sunny winter day, most of them can go out naked though! ;)

It really depends on your horse, yourself, your pasture setup, your schedule, etc etc...

[okggo]

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

My IDSH has never had one on, and likely never will. He gets more hair then 2 mammoths combined (he even gets winter eyelashes, lol).

Last year I was not planning on blanketing anyone, and ended up doing everyone BUT him. Reason being - the 2 weanlings were out with our resident old codger. They have a HUGE and very nice cosy run-in shed. Codger absolutely for NO reason NO circumstances would go in there. He'd stand out in the WORST of weather and of course the babies were out there with him, shivering and miserable. So...I put waterproof blankets on them.

Our TBs get them because I want ALL the calories going to weight vs burning it trying to keep warm. The codger gets one b/c he can barely walk when he gets cold (joints are not doing well).

This year I'm hoping I won't need to do any but one of our TBs and the old man. The baby is out with the now yearlings and they LOVE the run-in shed. They live in there. The codger is out with the adults who will gladly leave him out in the rain/snow by himself freezing to death. So we shall see.

I got an adjustable blanket from horse.com last year that was GREAT! Was able to expand it on the babies as they grew and not needing to buy another blanket. http://www.horse.com/Kensington-Growing-YearlingPony-Turnout-Blanket-BER05.html and PS I needed the yearling one for my weanlings. I think they run pretty small.

[Forte]

I do. The climate where I live is not very cold, but extremely wet. With my first foal, I did not blanket, thinking that I'd let mother nature do her thing,especially since baby had access to a large shelter. Baby ended up getting the WORST case of rain scald and a huge fungal infection on her back which was very difficult to treat (imagine trying to bath a baby with antifungal shampoo daily, with no access to hot water and no one to help me!)

[Fairview Horse Center]

It is funny that we all speak of thick coats, but most of the big TB breeding farms do not blanket their youngsters.

As for calories, I have not seen blanketing save any. The energy expended with them always carrying around their "workout weights", and constantly using a resistance trainer to walk put that in the negative column.

[Home Again Farm]

So it sounds like I should use common sense.

If he is cold, get him a blanket. If he is not cold, leave him be.

Common sense-what a novel idea!:lol:

:yes::yes::yes:

:lol:

[Auventera Two]

Leah, your little punkin is precious! Congratulations.

We have always blanketed babies. I can't stand leaving horses naked in a cold driving rain. My horses don't wear blankets all the time, but if they need one, they need one. But then I live in the north where it gets really nasty.

[pintopiaffe]

sucklings, sometimes. Most often in the first week of life when they are born in inclement weather. I *prefer* heat lamp--they can move in or out of it--but I won't leave one on when I'm not home. Foalsaver and a really good wicking adjustible foal blanket.

Weanlings, almost never. They get way, WAY too woolly. I have had Sept, Oct & Dec foals, and never needed to blanket them as weanlings, even up he'ah. Of course, odd as it sounds, snow is far more forgiving than sideways rain.

[Oakstable]

Ahhhhhhhhhh, some of you get rain. Not just chill.

We get rain and chill only rarely and when that happens, I throw out lots of extra hay.

So hard to compare practices in a country with this many climates.

[LavenderFarm]

There was the year when the "princess" was a yearling. Got her a blanket and must admit she was stunning with the color coordination. Anyone want to place bets as to how long it took her to chew it up ... but it was gorgeous on her. I would not turn out young horses in blankets as they are the most likely to get hurt. I only blanket the oldsters if weather dictates. All have access to shelter and most have sense enough to seek shelter in the worst weather.

[Hampton Bay]

I blanketed my filly last year (her weanling year) because she was absolutely freezing. She would stand out there and just shiver, despite that thick wooly coat. Her mom is the same way, though I always thought it was because mom doesn't grow much of a coat.

Mine do have shelter, but if the wind is whipping around like it tends to do out here, then their shelter doesn't always help much.

Poor filly was still cold occasionally even with her fleece-lined cotton blanket. She would actually walk over to me and shove her head thru the opening because she knew it kept her warm.

A normal foal in a location that doesn't get much rain, or where they actually get out of the rain, I probably wouldn't have blanketed her. But she needed it.

I also think it's harder on them to go from warm and sunny at 60* to a windy 35* overnight than it is when they are just cold all the time.

And blankets come off at 8 am here unless its still just too cold. Since I am home all day, I can remove blankets when they need them removed. There have been a couple days when even the mare would lay down around a hay pile to try to keep warm, and it was only about 45* in the middle of the day. Made for a cute picture :)

[Hilltopfarmva]

I blanket my babies because I do not have run in sheds. They really only get blankets in rainy weather. #1 it helps them get used to being handled regularly and #2, it makes them easier to break as yearlings. I buy the Amigo 200 gram fill turnouts. I let them grow as much coat as possible. They do come into the barn at night. I will eave blankets on mid January to the end of February since that seems to be the coldest time in VA. It is a good learning process for the babies. Everyone does things different, so it is entirely up to you. Since I break most of my kids, I just like blanketing them young.

[HVH]

I am a Hanoverian breeder in North GA (normally 10-15 degrees colder than Atlanta plus more wind and preciptation). We produce 4-6 foals per year. All of the horses are out pretty much 24x7 with run-in sheds. Every horse comes in the barn twice per day for individual feeding then goes back out. Our in-training riding horses are clipped so they are in the barn at night during the severe weeks in winter and have blankets every day. All of the younger horses and mares are blanketed when the temp is below freezing coupled with precipitation and/or wind and then remove the blankets again when the weather improves above those conditions. If prolonged period of cold, nasty weather we will remove blankets every 2nd day to give them a good curry and then re-blanket before they go back out. There is certainly nothing wrong with encouranging a heavy coat nor in blanketing weanlings when the weather is bad.

[Dressage_Diva333]

Currently I'm blanketing my filly who is recoving from pnuemonia... she's almost three months old. I use a Weatherbeeta Orican, and it fits here great. My local freed store was having a 50% off sale on little blankets so I pounced and bought several of them. I take it off during the day for now. I just can't risk her getting sick again though.

[stoicfish]

So question. I have a July baby and live in Alberta. He is not that wooly yet. I want him to develop his “own” coat but not let this fall be too hard on him. Would a light coat be beneficial in this case or am I discouraging his coat coming in and just making it harder on him?
He and his mother have a non-heated barn, but she has her “winter” coat developing and tends to stay out to eat. Only comes in when it is really crappy out, poor little guy.

[Windswept Stable]

I like to expose them to a blanket at some point and have them wear it a time or two. Ponies need to be exposed to as much as possible to make them child friendly down the road. Plus, it's fun seeing them wear the adorable coats!

[stoicfish]

I like to expose them to a blanket at some point and have them wear it a time or two. Ponies need to be exposed to as much as possible to make them child friendly down the road. Plus, it's fun seeing them wear the adorable coats!

He was too big for a foal coat (that they had in stock, anyway) so he is in a pony coat. OMG they market those things for 12 year old girls....I should be reported for horse abuse with those colors!

[JB]

So question. I have a July baby and live in Alberta. He is not that wooly yet. I want him to develop his “own” coat but not let this fall be too hard on him. Would a light coat be beneficial in this case or am I discouraging his coat coming in and just making it harder on him?
He and his mother have a non-heated barn, but she has her “winter” coat developing and tends to stay out to eat. Only comes in when it is really crappy out, poor little guy.
I'd have something on hand if you find him shivering. But otherwise let him be so his coat can develop. But then again, that's pretty much my MO anyway - have the stuff on hand of the horse needs it, otherwise it stays out of the way :)

[Equilibrium]

I wouldn't put a light sheet on a foal because actually you inhibit the hair doing it's job of puffing up and staying warm, at the same time giving them no warmth, so actually they will be colder.

I live in Ireland and I have TB's, and while we don't get extreme cold here, we get non-stop damp and wet along with the cold. I'll never forget someone telling me, you will never be as cold as you will be in Ireland - I thought they were crazy turns out, not so much! At any rate, for my first couple of foaling years, I brought everything in at night because I thought it was the nice thing to do. Last year, left all of them out all winter through a quite nasty winter. We had no shelter, but lots of hedging for them to use as a windbreak. Nobody was cold and they grew amazing coats. I also had no problems with rain scald. I did de-lice them in the spring. Babies were fed well and had plenty of hay. I did have a big cattle barn for them to come into if needed, but quite frankly they were fine.

I had one year where I blanketed foals and I said never again. All seemed fine at first with no problems as normal. The very next day after having them on, something happened in a field and one went nutso. Came through 4 different heavy duty electric fences, through and out the yard (because someone on the farm left gate open), down the lane and onto the main road. When we finally caught up with her, she was in the middle of 2 lorries and never so glad to see us. To this day, she can wear a rug anywhere bar a field. She has lunged and driven all over the propety in a rug and has no hangups whatsoever, but the min she's on her own with it in a field she panics. So she's out all day in all sorts of weather with no rug, at night she comes into a pen and gets a rug and she's perfectly fine. She gets a little hair taken off her neck and belly for riding. Know what the kicker is? Her haircoat is the absolute nicest haircoat you'd ever want to see. It's never overly thick, has amazing condition, and is always the shiniest. Probably because I have to make an effort to get the layers of mud off each night! I've decided she's happy the way she is so why change it. And to anyone who has seen a horse in panic stage, a real frightened panic, you will know I'm happier having her alive.

Terri

[stoicfish]

I wouldn't put a light sheet on a foal because actually you inhibit the hair doing it's job of puffing up and staying warm, at the same time giving them no warmth, so actually they will be colder.
Terri

Thanks Terri and JB,
Terri that is quite the story, glad she is OK.
I totally agree with the damp cold idea. I am always coldest in the fall if it is wet, which it unusually isn't here. Seriously it is colder at 5C with moisture then minus 25C, as at those temps it is always dry.
The problem I am having is we just had some very warm weather (plus 20C) and now we are minus 10C with wind. The poor little guy has no proper coat yet, and is shivering. He has to get his own coat developed for winter but it usually takes a bit. It is kind of a catch-22. Like the idea of using it when it is really chilly out and for short periods, supervised.
I am not a blanket user generally, and last winter we had several -35C days. I just feed them very well and they were fine, but they had good fluffy coats, they didn’t even shiver.

[rcloisonne]

I also think it's harder on them to go from warm and sunny at 60* to a windy 35* overnight than it is when they are just cold all the time.
Unlike humans, you do know that to a horse, 40*F is the ideal temperature? They have a much harder time dealing with high heat.

I get a kick out out of what you southern belles think is cold. :lol:

[JB]

It doesn't matter, really, what we think is cold, doesn't matter if we think the horse should be fine, should be able to handle it - if he's shivering, he's cold, and needs some assistance.

Putting a blanket on a shivering, cold horse so he can get and stay warm enough, then taking the blanket off when the conditions return to a more favorable state, is not going to ruin the Winter coat.

It IS harder on some horses to go from 60's and sunny, even if also breezy, to suddenly 50 and rainy - 2 of mine here were shivering a few weeks ago in that situation because their Winter coats aren't fully in. And actually, it wasn't even 50 and raining - it was mid-60's and *pouring* and had been in the low 70's.

The 3 here are perfectly fine, in full Winter coats, when the temps are in the single digits, even if there's a light breeze, no jammies necessary. Wind is actually rarely an issue for them, even though we can catch some pretty good "breezes" here on top of a hill.

Yes, horses are most thermo-neutral in the 30's and 40's, but that's generally when that's all there is to it - not 50mph winds from the North, not 33* driving rain. All those things take away the insulating properties of the coat. That's when horses get cold.

[Fairview Horse Center]

Those first few chilly rains and colder nights, many horses will shiver, but if left alone, they build their coats, and can take MUCH colder a few weeks later, with no shivering.

I totally agree that light sheets will make a horse colder. Even a light cotton sheet will flatten the coat.

A shivering horse really is not cold. It is them turning on the vibrating personal heater.

A couple of hours of vibrating to keep warm won't hurt any horse that is healthy, and in decent weight. Hay also keeps them warm.

[JB]

And mine can take the cold later even though I have blanketed them ;) The occasional blanket, even a heavy weight, is not going to break the Winter coat health.

Are you not cold when you shiver? Yes, it's a way to burn calories to stay warm, but it doesn't mean you're not cold.

Sorry, I won't say "tough it out, horse" when I see one shivering.

[rcloisonne]

Sorry, I won't say "tough it out, horse" when I see one shivering.
Agreed. I think you misinterpreted my comment.

I blanketed my horses, depending on the weather. Out of the four, only one of them really needed it unless, as you say, there was a cold driving rain - then they wanted to come inside anyway.

Mainly I blanketed because they would get so grossly dirty, especially the white one, and it gets too damn cold here to hose 'em down.

I don't subscribe to any dogmatic view regarding blanketing. As with all things, give the horse what it needs. However, I see too many people blanketing horses because they themselves are cold and assume the horse is too.

The only weaner I raised destroyed every blanket I ever bought him, some in less than 24 hours. Back in the 90s, the only rip-proof blankets available were $250+. He learned to go without. ;)

[Fairview Horse Center]

Are you not cold when you shiver? Yes, it's a way to burn calories to stay warm, but it doesn't mean you're not cold..

Shivering in humans is an involuntary reflex. In horses, it is not. It is a voluntary movement, like us moving around, rubbing our arms, or stomping out feet. They turn on the switch.

If you see one shivering, bring it in, and give it hay, and within just a couple of minutes, they will stop.

Yes, a blanketed horse may be more comfortable than an unblanketed one during those few cold windy, or rainy hours, but the rest of the time, by FAR the majority of hours and days, the unblanketed horse will be much more comfortable. Why is it harder to look at one that may be a bit cold for a short period, than one that spends the winter too hot, itchy, harder to move at every step, pulling the hairs, etc?

[JB]

Fairview, I don't advocate blanketing to make the human feel better. I don't advocate over-blanketing - not sure where that came into play here.

I'm saying - if a horse is cold, or I strongly suspect the conditions are heading that way, I DO put a blanket on as the last thing I want is for him to start running in an attempt to get/stay warm. My WB gelding won't do that, but my TB mare will in a heartbeat, and given that's usually when it's cool/cold and wet, that means running in slick red clay. No thanks.

The shivering may be voluntary, but it still means he's cold. Sure, shivering may warm him up, at which point the shivering stops, but then the lack of the activity can allow him to get cold again. We might turn on our arm rubbing and feet stomping too, and while it may warm us up enough temporarily, we'll stop, then get cold again. Surely you'd prefer a light jacket at that point, especially if it's raining.

Once the rain stops, the blanket comes off. Not something I really enjoy, but then again I'm not doing it for me.

[grayarabpony]

I have never heard of shivering being voluntary.

A lot of horses grow enough hair to be fine. On the reining farm I was at while my house was being moved, the crop of foals (QHs) looked like miniature wooly mammoths. Now I've seen some hairy horses, but these foals took the cake. They looked as though they had twice as much hair as the adults.

On the other hand, some don't grow enough hair or have enough subcutaneous body fat to hold their weight. I've always had to blanket my gelding, and his mother before him. He is a total wuss about the cold. Right now, while the pony has a decent winter coat already, he's as slick as he was in summer.

He wouldn't make it out on the range.

[JB]

It actually is, at least to a point, voluntary.

[Fairview Horse Center]

I don't advocate over-blanketing - not sure where that came into play here. Once the rain stops, the blanket comes off. Not something I really enjoy, but then again I'm not doing it for me.

What you personally are doing for a very short term is different than what most people can do.

If it is raining from 7 AM until noon, then the sun comes out, and it gets to be 55, most people are not in a position to remove that blanket. They are at work, or the horse is boarded, and blanket changes are not done during the middle of the day. So they stay out overheated all afternoon.

Then when the temperature is dropping, and the horse comes in at 5 or 6 PM, it is not fair to leave them naked in a barn at night when temps are dropping into the teens., when they have been wearing one at 55 and sunny.

If you can adjust blankets hourly all winter, and only blanket them during the rain, that is one thing, but not practical for most.

For most situations and climates, the horse begins to wear a sheet or blanket in the fall, and pretty much has something on them until spring. Those horses spend MANY more hours during the winter uncomfortable, than their unblanketed friends.

The weather changes so much from 7 to 11, 11 to 2, and 3 to 6, that unless someone can adjust 5 times a day, they will be too cold, or too hot most of the time. Heck, with us, sometimes you put a jacket on, and 10 minutes later, you are burning up, take it off, and 10 minutes later, you are too cold again. Horses can't do that.

I am not anti-blanketing. My stallions are both blanketed, as they are on night turnout all winter, with no shed. I blanket them so I don't have to get up constantly in the middle of the night, to catch them if the rain or wind gets bad. They spend the winter more uncomfortable, for MY convenience.

[grayarabpony]

It actually is, at least to a point, voluntary.

What is the source for that information?

[Piaffe~Passage]

I blanket, but I live in Northern MN also. And my guy, 5 months old, is in a just started to heat, heated barn. He has his blankie on, he goes out no matter what, snow wind etc.

[Go Fish]

Nope, never. It doesn't really get very cold where I live, but it does rain in the winter. I have 3-sided loafing sheds in the fields. If the little buggers won't come in and get dry, then I don't think they are all that cold.

I don't breed for early foals. Most of mine are born April or later and get turned out with Mom immediately. They've all survivied so far. ;)

[Renae]

If the foal has not been body clipped or kept under lights for showing I have never seen a need to put a blanket on it. The same when I lived in New jersey as when I am living here in Minnesota. As long as they have shelter and plenty of hay they will be fine.

[sid]

I haven't read all the posts...but no, I do not blanket any horse who has a full winter coat to protect them from the elements. Shelter from falling weather, a good supply of fresh water nearby and plenty of hay is really the best for them as a species.

Frankly, by blanketing one is tamping down the horse's natural "loft"..the undercoat that rises and falls as insulation depending upon the temperature.

When blanketed they really cannot control their body temps unless one is changing them all the time depending upon how much sun, and the air temps.

Of course, if a horse has a very thin coat from show/clipping they should be blanketed . If they have a malady that causes them not to be able to control their body temp (chronic or acute problem), sometimes a blanket is needed..in those situations. If they are body clipped for the winter to save the time of coolouts after riding...well, of course they should be blanketed to protect them from what was cut off.

When WE get cold, doesn't mean that horses do. Nature has fortified them very well and human intervention often does more harm than good. Many horses lose weight in the winter because they are burning calories (heat) under all those blankets.

When you have to grab your sweater it doesn't mean your horse needs one...:lol: Yes, they do look pretty in the latest style, but that is for the owner's happiness, not the horse.

[Oakstable]

When I had 1-2-3 horses, I did a lot of things but I realized later that it was for me.

I feel so sorry for horses in moderate climates that are stuffed into blankets.

I've had horses that were shivering when it was cold and raining. Once I threw out more hay, the shivering stopped.

Horses that are body clipped should be blanketed.

[Equilibrium]

When I had 1-2-3 horses, I did a lot of things but I realized later that it was for me.

I feel so sorry for horses in moderate climates that are stuffed into blankets.

I've had horses that were shivering when it was cold and raining. Once I threw out more hay, the shivering stopped.

Horses that are body clipped should be blanketed.

I consider Ireland a moderate climate and while we do get non stop rain, a middle weight rug is probably gonna do you for the coldest of weathers. . If ours get clipped, which is a trace clip, I add a small liner at night. Imagine my surprise in seeing so many of my friends whose horses were subjected to 2 and 3 rugs starting in the fall.

Terri